Draconic Soul
by Dragonstar1715
Summary: A Costume Shop story combined with the game of Kingdom Hearts. Draco wants to experience what its like to be a dragon, so his friend Roxas points him to a world called 'Sunrise Valley', although he gets more than he bargained for... Setting c Transryu
1. Welcome to Sunrise Valley

Sometimes Wishes Do Come True...

My name is Draco Carvhall, and as stupid as it may seem for a 18 year old, I have had a fascination for dragons. I collected merchandise and even have one as a friend, but sometimes I feel like I want something more of my hobby. I had this dream of being able to become a dragon and know what it is like to be one, but it's not like that was even possible.

But maybe it was possible; maybe there is a way to make such wishes come true...

I was sitting on the clock tower, eating sea-salt ice cream as I stared off into the sunset. I clutched my dragon pendant, which I kept with me at all times. Even though I was getting to the age when most kids would be over such childish things, my obsession kept burning bright, as it has always been since I was 5. I always had a dream of becoming a dragon for as long as I had this obsession. Sure I had Dragoon my friend who is a dragon, believe it or not and the dragon merchandise which I bought on a regular basis. But... I somehow wanted more out of it.

I have one of the biggest collections of Dragon merchandise in the worlds of Kingdom Hearts. But even though that satisfied me to a point, I still felt empty somehow. But even with the advances of magic in recent times, none had made a way to make such a thing happen, becoming the creature of their wildest dreams.

Roxas came and sat down next to him with a sea-salt ice cream bar as well and said "Hey Draco, what's been happening?" in a cheery voice. I smiled and then sighed a bit. "Something wrong Draco?" Roxas asked in concern.

"Roxas, is it wrong for someone like me to wish that they could become a dragon?" I asked in a uneasy tone.

"Not really, but why?" Roxas replied.

"I don't know, I always seemed to have a dream of becoming a dragon, but such a dream seems so... I don't know, farfetched," I said to him.

"Well if you had the chance, would you?" Roxas enquired.

"Of course I would! It's a thing I've always wanted to experience for the last 12 years!" I exclaimed.

"Well... maybe a costume would work?" Roxas suggested.

"A costume? But I don't know any costume stores that sell those kind of costumes!" I said to him.

"I might know one guy..." Roxas said.

"You do? Who?" I said with some excitement.

"Well I know that Sora once went to this one world that is a city surrounded by mountainous regions and forest. Apparently there is a costume store there that make costumes of almost every variety, though it's usually done by special order," Roxas explained.

"What's the world called?" I asked.

"Sunrise Valley, I think Sora should still have the co-ordinates" Roxas replied. Roxas quickly whipped out his phone and dialed Sora's number, "Hey Sora, I'm good, you? Listen, I was wondering if you could do me a favour. Draco wants to go to that Sunrise Valley world, you still got the co-ordinates in the ships memory? You do? Awesome, could you SMS them over? Thanks Sora, you're a pal, bye!" Within a few minutes, the phone chimed and Roxas checked the message bank, and as promised, Sora had sent the co-ordinates"

I pulled out a pen and paper that I liked to keep with me for sketching and scribbled down the co-ordinates from Roxas's phone. "Thanks Roxas" I said with glee.

"You're welcome, be sure to show me that costume when you come back" Roxas said as we began to eat our ice cream. The sun was setting and it was getting dark, so after saying our goodbyes, we went our separate ways home. I walked in the front door and gave my family a quick greeting before heading up the stairs. Rushing to my bag, which I usually took on trips, I began to load some things up, because knowing that most costumes done by special order usually took about 1-4 weeks to make.

As I packed, a familiar figure landed next to my window, it was my dragon friend Dragoon. I first met Dragoon at The World That Never Was, well more like battled. You see Dragoon was at some point, defeated and then possessed by half-hearts. Whilst on little training excursion there, I discovered him as he teemed with darkness due to the possession. I was able to rid him of the half-hearts and we quickly became close friends, he even let's me ride on him sometimes.

"Hey Draco, what are you doing?" Dragoon greeted me.

"Oh hi Dragoon, I'm packing some things" I replied.

"What for?" he asked.

"I heard of this world that has a costume store that can make Dragon costumes, and I was going to see if I could get myself one." I explained to him.

"Heh, you still have that obsession with my kind?" Dragoon said amused.

"I can probably assure that my obsession will stay with me till the day I die" I said with a laugh.

"So you're going away for a bit then?" Dragoon asked me.

"Yeah, since the costume I want will probably have to be done by special order, I might have to stay there for a bit" I said as I stuffed more clothes and other things in the bag.

"How you gonna have it made?" Dragoon asked me.

"Hmmm, Actually I was thinking of having it based off you" I said with some enthusiasm.

"ME?" Dragoon exclaimed.

"Sure, I've never seen a dragon with such colours as yours, I think it would be neat to have one that looks like you" I said with even more enthusiasm.

Packing the last item into my bag, I then picked up my digital camera. "I just want to get a picture of you, so the costume maker has a better idea of what I'm looking for in the costume" I said to Dragoon.

"Well, okay then" Dragoon replied.

Going out to a large open space I stood at a reasonable distance away so that I would have a full-size photo. "All right Dragoon, give me your best pose!" I shouted to him. Dragoon gave his most muscular pose he could, I laughed at this saying "Woah, look who's Mr. big macho dragon!" before taking several pictures from most sides to give the costume maker a better perspective.

"Well it's getting late, so I should head back" I said as I examined the last photo.

"All right, have fun with your costume, give me a look at it when you get back!" Dragoon said before flying off. I headed for home and went to bed, I had dreams of me being a dragon and the feeling of what it was to be a dragon.

I woke up the next day and thought about the dreams I had the night before. Even though it was only a costume I was going to get made, I still felt that having it made would somehow satisfy me. Pulling my bag of things out of my closet, I grabbed Absolution as well and strapped him to my back. "Is getting a dragon suit made, really going to put your mind at ease?" Absolution asked me.

"I don't know, it may, or it may not, I really don't know. But if it makes me at least a little happy, I'll be willing to get one" I replied.

"I walked downstairs and said goodbye to my parents, whom I told about my decision a few days ago. "Just make sure to give us a look, when you get it!" my sister said.

"Don't worry, you'll be the first one's to see it" I said as I walked out the door. I walked up to the summit of the hill next door to my house and pressed a button on a strange set of keys, which were the keys to my own personal Gummi Ship. Jumping inside, I looked at the control panel. Taking out the piece of paper that had the co-ordinates written on it, the words 'Sunrise Valley' appeared on screen.

I pressed a button to confirm my choice and the ship blasted off and started its course to its destination. The trip would be about 2 hours, so I headed into the cabin and fell asleep on a bed. The ship chimed that I had arrived and I looked out the window. I could now see why it was called Sunrise Valley, during the day, it always seemed like it was in a constant state of sunrise with the soft colours of the sun rising covering the city on the world.

I maneuvered the ship around and landed in a large field near the town. Getting out, I locked and disguised my gummi ship before heading into the city. It was quiet compared to most places I had been to. Walking around I searched for the store, but I couldn't find any signs with the word 'costume' in it.

I was starting to get agitated, when I spied a teenager who looked like he had just bought a costume, judging by the size of the box. Walking up to him, I asked him "Hey did you just come from a costume store?"

"Why yes, how come?" the teenager replied.

"Well, I'm new to this city, and I heard that there was a costume store here, but I can't find it" I explained.

The teenager laughed and said "It's not surprising, given the fact that it doesn't even have to word costume in it". "Look, just go around the corner there, and look for a small brick building called "The Second Identity", that's the store that you're looking for.

"The second identity? That's a strange name for a costume store…" Draco commented.

"Well it's actually appropriately named, my friend told me about this place. The costumes they make here are actually quite realistic," the teenager said as he opened his costume box.

Sitting in the box was a dinosaur suit, it was made superbly, and the detail was just so magnificent. "Damn if they're that good, I'm looking forward to getting one for myself"

"Well I'm sure you'll have fun with it. But just be careful, I heard that sometimes the costumes can be quite… clingy" the teenager said as he walked off. As the teenager walked away, Draco felt a strange vibe coming from the box, he just shrugged it off and headed in the direction that the teenager told him to go.

Sure enough, there was a red brick building that had a sign above it saying "The Second Identity". "Well at least I found it…" Draco said a bit exhausted from the search.

Walking inside, he was met with view of dozen's of costumes. Draco walked around a bit and examined all the costumes, all looked nice, but they didn't seem as nice as the Dino one he saw minutes ago.

Draco walked over to the counter and rang a bell that was aptly placed for when customers needed help. He stood there for a few minutes and took another look at the costumes on the racks. His eye then caught sight of a slightly open door behind the counter.

Managing to see a portion of the room behind it, I spied even more costumes. But these were different, they seemed to have the same gleam and sophisticated design that the dino suit from before had.

"Can I help you?" a voice said.

I jumped back in horror from the sudden line of dialogue, and then averted my attention to a man behind the counter. He seemed to be quite old in some aspects and wore strange robes of some kind.

"Well?" the man asked again.

"Uhhh yeah. I, uh heard you do, uh special costume orders for people and was wondering if, uh I could pay to have one made for, uh me?" I managed to stutter out.

"What kind of costume would you like?" the man asked.

"Well um, I'm a big fan of dragons and wanted a dragon costume please" I said after the man's calmish tone also calmed me down.

"What colours and what shape would you like to have?" he asked. I laid out the photos of Dragoon out and the man looked at them with some curiosity.

"How did you get pictures like these?" the man asked.

"He's my friend and he allowed me to take pictures of him" I replied.

"You mean… you're friends with a dragon?" the man asked with a hint of disbelief.

"Sure, is that so hard to believe?" I said to the man.

"Here. Dragons are just myths, well sort of…" the man replied.

"Well could you make me a dragon costume then?" I said getting annoyed with where this conversation was going.

"Well you said you're a friend, of the dragon?" the man asked.

"That's right" I replied.

"Could you maybe get a scale from him, of both colours on him?" the man requested.

"What for?" I said confused.

"You've seen the costumes in the back haven't you?" the man asked motioning towards the open door.

"Well, just a peek" I confessed to him.

"The reason that they seem so life like is because I make it out of a special material, and sometimes, to get the material just right, I have to mix it with fur or scales from the animal requested or a well detailed picture of what the person wants" the man explained.

"What would I get for it?" I asked curiously.

"Look, I'll tell you what, you get the scales for me and I'll make one of my 'special' costumes for you for no charge, sound fair?" the man proposed to me.

"You serious?" I said in disbelief.

"You have my word," the man said.

"Um, just wait here, I can get them for you within the hour" I said as I made my way for the exit.

The man was obviously excited by the fact that I could obtain such prized items.

I made my way back to the ship and hopped inside before cloaking it again. I then summoned Absolution and telepathically contacted Dragoon.

"Dragoon, you there?" I said.

"_Draco, that you?" _Dragoon replied to my voice.

"It's me" I replied.

"_What's up?"_ Dragoon asked.

"Would it be a bother if I could have one of your white and gold scales?" I asked nicely.

"_What on earth for?"_ Dragoon asked.

"The man at the costume shop said that if I got a gold and a white scale from you, apparently he can make it better than his regular costumes." I explained.

"_How does he plan to use them in your costume?"_ Dragoon enquired.

"I don't know, but he also said that I could have the costume for free if I got them" I said with some happiness.

"_Well I suppose if it means a free costume for you, I suppose I could"_ Dragoon agreed.

"Right, just put the scales when you get them on my desk and I'll grab them"

"_Okay then"_ Dragoon replied.

Several minutes went by as I waited for Dragoon to give the okay. Just then Dragoon contacted me _"Okay I put the scales on your desk" _he said.

"Okay, just give me a sec…" I said as I cut a portal open to my room. Stepping through and grabbing the scales, I turned to see Dragoon outside the window. "Got them, I said holding them in my hand"

"I hope your costume turns out alright" Dragoon commented.

"Yeah me too" I replied. "I might stay an extra night after I get the costume, just to try it on, you know, if there are any complications" I added.

"Well just don't stay around too long, I miss having you around" Dragoon replied.

"Don't worry, a month tops!" I reassured him as I stepped back though the portal.

Stepping back through, I saw the sun was starting to set. So I decided put my quest on hold until tomorrow. I walked outside to get a better view of things, the sunset was as about as beautiful as the sky usually was.

I casually looked up for a bit and caught eye of a strange looking figure. I wasn't able to tell what it was, but it had hair, a tail and a… cap? The figure quickly flew away from sight as I stood there with a dumbfounded look on my face.

"Jesus, I really need to cut back on the coke, all the sugar and caffeine is making me see things." I thought to myself. Heading back inside the gummi ship, I helped myself to a meal from the ship's Gallery before going to bed. For some reason that figure was stuck in my mind, as I tried to figure out what the hell it was.

"Meh, not much use worrying about it" I told myself before I fell asleep.


	2. A Close Encounter

Sometimes Wishes Do Come True

Sometimes Wishes Do Come True...

Chapter Two: A Close Encounter

I woke up to a stunning background of the Sunrise in the horizon. I remembered that I had to give those scales to that man in the shop today to get my costume.

I stepped outside the gummi ship and cloaked it, I then proceeded to the city. But before that, I just happened to look up and saw that figure again. It was clearer this time but, the shadows still concealed it somewhat.

Quickly, I pulled out my camera and took a picture of it before it disappeared again. I looked at the camera, and there was the silhouette. "So I wasn't imagining things then," I said in a slightly victorious voice, because at least I now knew that I wasn't seeing things.

I made my way back into town and went to the store. At least I wasn't lost this time because that teenager gave me directions yesterday. I made my way into the store, and saw the old man at the counter. He seemed to be waiting for something, most likely it was for the scales.

"You're late," the man said.

"Uhh sorry, by the time I was able to get them, you would've been closed" I tried to explain.

"Well no matter. Did you bring the scales?" he asked.

"Yeah right here" I said pulling them out.

He studied them for a moment. "I haven't seen scales so beautiful in a long time"

"You've seen dragon scales before?" I asked.

"Yes, I have. An old friend had a scale that was passed down for many generations. After he died a few years back, I never thought I would see such scales again, but now I have two to use in my research." He explained.

"Oh geez, I'm sorry," I said apologetically.

"Don't be, he lived a fulfilling life and was one of the world's most finest costume makers. Now I'm running this business in his memory. I want to be able to fulfill his legacy of granting people's wishes to be the creature or animal of their dreams, even if they are just 'costumes'" He said before putting down the scales.

"Now I assume you wish for it to be made so that you can stand on two legs?" he asked inquisitively.

"Of course, I wouldn't be very good at being on all fours" I replied.

"Well, give me two weeks, I should have it ready by then" he said.

"Thanks, uh…" I said, but I didn't even know the man's name.

"Drethan," the man introduced himself as.

"Drethan huh? Nice meeting you, and I'm looking forward to the costume," I said with a smile before exiting the store. I spent the next few hours wandering the city, looking for anything that took my fancy. After exploring a few game shops and also the only gun shop in town, I took my leave and headed back to the ship.

There was one thing that still bothered me as I sat there. That figure this morning was still on my mind. I looked at the photo I had taken this morning. It was weird; I had never seen anything like it. It seemed to be blue with a yellow tail, yellow hair, and a red cap.

I just looked at the picture with amazement, I'd seen some strange things in my life, but this took the cake. "Maybe I could get a closer look" I wondered. I walked outside and waited for the sunset and kept my eyes to the sky and, as expected, the blue and yellow creature flew by.

I followed it from a safe distance. It landed of a cliff some ways out of the city amongst the vast forest. I hid behind a rock and made sure to keep my breathing steady to avoid detection. Looking from behind the rock, I was able to see its finer details.

It had yellow stripes on several places and it didn't seem to have a tail like most other creatures. It seemed to begin from the waist rather than from the spine, like most animals do. The red cap was also backwards to let the front of his hair hang out and also a red bandana of sorts around his neck.

But why would it need a cap? It surely didn't seem to be protecting itself from sunlight, and the hair… It's almost as if he was-.

"_Who's there?" _a voice rang out. I clasped my hand over my mouth, as it was most likely the creature.

"It's okay Draco, just keep still behind the rock and he won't see you," I thought to myself as I tried to keep my breath steady.

"_Who's behind that rock? Show yourself!"_ the voice rang out again.

"Ahh!" I exclaimed, "This thing can hear my thoughts!" I said in shock. The sound of footsteps was then heard starting to get closer to him. "Oh hell no! Get us out of here Absolution!" I said in an almost pleading manner. Absolution then cut a portal open, which I quickly dived into. It was lucky that I did too, because the moment the portal disappeared was the moment that the creature looked round the corner.

Back in the gummi ship, I came crashing out of the portal. I was breathless; that creature came so close to getting me, and I was half-petrified from the experience. "Goddammit, that was close!" I said as my heart pounded and I tried to steady my breathing.

That night, I had a nightmare and woke up in a cold sweat. "I think that's the last time I'll be doing that," I said to myself.

The next day, I walked uptown and looked at all the various stores and places that the city had to offer. I decided after a while to visit the costume shop again because maybe Drethan would know about the creature. The usual costumes lined the rack inside his shop, except for a few new ones.

Drethan finished with another customer before he came over to me. "Ah it's you again. Anything I can help you with?" said he said with a slight smile.

"Oh I was just having a look around" I lied partially.

"Is that so?" he asked.

"…" I was unsure about telling him about what I saw last night and my close encounter.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

I gathered up my courage and said, "Well actually there is one thing…"

"Do tell," Drethan said with curiosity as he leaned over the counter.

"Lately, since I arrived in this city, I've been seeing this weird figure, But I haven't a clue of what it is" I explained to him.

Drethan was silent for a moment and asked, "Did you get a good look at him?"

I pulled out the camera and showed him the picture of the figure. "Here, I managed to get a picture of it."

He looked at the picture and was slightly stunned. "I see, so he still uses the costume," he whispered.

"What was what?" I asked, as I didn't hear him.

"Oh nothing" Drethan replied as he looked at me. "Well I do know a little about it, for one it isn't an aggressive creature."

"Aggressive? That thing almost killed me last night!" I yelled.

"What did you say?" Drethan asked.

"I… I was curious as to what it was, so I actually followed it last night." I began to explain.

"And?" Drethan said as he motioned me to continue.

"Well I followed it to a cliff and hid behind a rock as I tried to get a closer look at it" I continued.

"Then what happened?" Drethan said as his curiosity began to build over my story.

"And then, I… I don't know how but, it somehow sensed I was there, as if it could read my thoughts. After I heard the footsteps start coming towards the rock, I got out of there, fast" I finished.

Drethan seemed amused by my story and laughed, "Hey, what's so funny?"

"Did you really think he was coming to kill you?" Drethan asked.

"Well I'm not sure, but I wasn't willing to stay around to find out."

"Exactly, it might've wanted to greet you, but you ran away anyway."

"Well what the hell would you do if you came face to face with something like that?"

"Probably shake its hand and ask it if it wanted a drink," Drethan said laughingly.

"Well whatever, anyway I just want this costume done, so I can get the hell out of here, before that thing decides to track me down."

"You ever heard the saying that 'looks can be deceiving?'" Drethan asked.

"A few times in my life yeah…" I replied.

"That quote fits the creature very well. How would I know? I've met it."

This shocked me, "You've met the thing?" I asked him.

"Yes, and know that he isn't as threatening as he looks."

The sun was going down, and I need to get back to the gummi ship so I left him after saying "I'll take that under advisement".

I wasted no time getting back to the ship. I was intrigued by the creature, but the way he heard my thoughts, I guessed he had powerful psychic abilities. The only problem is that if he did turn out to be hostile, I wouldn't stand much of a chance against him.

"Oh well just a few more days, I should be safe till then… I hope" I said to myself as I made my way to bed. Even though I was terrified of what the thing was, I managed to get myself to sleep.

Meanwhile…

Drethan was in his shop tiding up for the day. After all things were sorted out, he began to focus his powers to communicate with someone. "Jace, are you there?" he said in his mind.

"You… what do you want?" A voice on the other end said in a slightly angry tone.

"Tsk, tsk child, I'm not here to torment you or anything of the sorts, but I was hoping that you could come to my shop, I have something I need to discuss with you."

Jace grunted. "…Fine, I'll be there in the next half hour."

"And if possible, bring… 'him', he's the one I want to speak to," Drethan added.

"…Alright then, if you insist."

"That kid's an interesting one, he hasn't forgotten about what he saw and even his camera is in perfect working order, I wonder…" Drethan thought.

Within the next half hour, a knock was heard at the back door. Drethan answered the door to find a teenager; he had brown hair, blue eyes and wore a green shirt with olive green pants and black sneakers.

"Ah Jace. Come in, I've been waiting for you" Drethan said in a joyful tone. The teenager walked in the door as Drethan closed the door behind him and they made their way into a study or sorts.

Jace sat down. "Alright, what's this about?"

"Like to get to the point from the word go, eh? I like that in you" Drethan commented.

"Just get on with it" Jace said, slightly annoyed.

"Tsk, tsk, you are so impatient" Drethan said before clearing his throat. "Well I need to speak with ''him' about something. You did bring him, didn't you?" Drethan asked.

"Yeah, I did, just like you asked" Jace replied.

"Good, now would you be so kind as to bring him out?"

Jace put down his backpack and unzipped it. He reached in and pulled out a blue costume. It had a yellow tail, yellow stripes in various places, three fingered gloves, and two-toed footings. The costume also had had two hornlike areas, yellow hair, and also an area that had been molded to look like some sort of armour. Jace reached in and grabbed a red cap out of the bag as well as a red bandana.

Jace put the items on the table and concentrated on the costume for a bit. The costume moved slightly, then suddenly sprang to life. It leapt on to Jace and enveloped his body, then it covered Jace's hands and leg's in the rubbery fabric, soon followed by his chest.

There was the sound of snapping and shifting bones as the costume's tail attached itself to Jace's spine, causing him to groan in pain. More grinding and shifting could be heard as his arms and legs began to change size and shape to fit the empty areas of the footings and the gloves.

The mask of the costume opened up and engulfed Jace's head before sealing itself shut. Jace choked slightly as a final round of grinding and crunching could be heard as his face also changed shape to fit the head area.

There standing before Drethan was the creature I had seen that night, who was originally a human! Drethan looked at him as the creature grabbed the cap and placed it on his head backwards so that his hair would stick out the front and tied the bandana around his neck.

"Good to see you, Valant," Drethan said to the creature.

"_Well I'm here, now what do you want?"_ Valant said in his psychic voice.

"My, my, it has been a while. Your attitude seems to be the only thing that hasn't matured that much," Drethan commented.

"_Nice to disappoint you,"_ Valant replied bluntly.

Drethan laughed a bit before he regained himself. "All right then, I'll get to the point, just for you." He took a breath. "I think I may have found us another potential 'customer,'" Drethan explained.

"_Drethan, how many times do we have to go through this? I am not helping you with any more of your experiments" _Valant said in a sharp tone.

"Just wait, let me finish! He came to me a couple of days ago. I agreed to make him a costume, free of charge in exchange for these." Held out the dragon scales I had given him.

"_What are those?" _Valant questioned.

"Dragon scales, Valant, and they're harder than diamonds" Drethan grinned.

"_Dragon scales? I thought Dragons were extinct."_

"Yes, but this teenager was able to obtain these with no effort. I have a feeling that he could be a star candidate for one of my costumes, I could sense a very strong desire and a strange power within him, he would be perfect for my research" he added.

"_And what exactly does that mean?"_

"He is a unique individual and one skilled in magic quite proficiently too."

"_A teenager knowing magic? I thought you were the only one who knew magic here."_

"I may be the only one here, I'm guessing he's from another world."

"_Another world?! That's crazy!" _

"I have confirmed that there are other worlds that can indeed support life, and the dragon scales are more proof of this. What's more, I think that he may be a recipient of the legendary Keyblade."

"_Keyblade? What is that?"_

"It's a legendary blade, its power is phenomenal; it has the power to bring prosperity or destruction according to its user's will. There have been tales of many who received these blades. Some fought for Justice and vanquished evil, while others used the power to bring Armageddon."

Valant became annoyed. _"Yeah, well, I get all this talk about keyblades and this power that this kid has, but what I don't get is how I fit into this."_

"Ah yes, that's right. That's why you're here isn't it? Anyway, he came to see me today to check on the progress of his costume, but that wasn't the only thing he discussed with me."

"_What do you mean?"_

"You see, he claimed that he had been seeing a strange figure in the sky for the last few days" Drethan began saying.

"_And?"_

"Well I was intrigued, he even caught the figure on camera and showed it to me."

"_And this concerns me how?"_

"I was able to get a copy from him, I even brought it with me." Drethan motioned towards a picture that was face down on the desk.

Valant picked up the photo and looked at it. A shocked look came over him, as Drethan said, "Look familiar?"

It was a picture of him, the shadows in the picture faded out the figure, but he recognized his own body shape. _"How'd he get this?"_

"He must've taken it when you were flying one day. That's what the picture seems to be telling me, anyway" smirked Drethan.

"_But I only fly in areas where I can't sense anyone!"_ Valant said angrily.

Drethan laughed. "Well obviously, he escaped under your radar." "What's more, he told me that you tried to attack him."

"_He what?"_ Valant exclaimed.

"Yes, he followed you to a cliff and hid behind a rock as you stood there daydreaming off into the sunset."

"_Behind a rock? Wait a minute! I think I sensed him yesterday evening!"_ _"I heard someone's thoughts when I was standing there, and I went to investigate. But when I looked behind the rock, there was no one there, his life signal just disappeared!"_

"Hmmm, if he just vanished… maybe he learned the power of teleportation too?"

"_I suppose that would explain the sudden loss of his life signal, but I wasn't going to hurt him. I was just wondering who was there- you know I despise violence."_

"I suppose it was just a misunderstanding," Drethan concluded. "But either way, I think that he will be a perfect candidate for my costumes. I have almost finished his. Think of what I could learn from someone as powerful as him!"

Valant looked at him in disgust _"Look Drethan, people are not guinea pigs to be experimented on, despite how old, what gender they are or even how powerful a person they are."_

"_He has feelings and things he wants to do with his life, you're going to ruin that all for him just for the sake of one of your sick experiments! What if he can't take the costume off again? What then?"_

Drethan replied coldly. "An unfortunate side effect, nevertheless I will still get valuable data from him"

"Ugh, I can't take this anymore! I seriously hope you aren't going through with this." Valant headed for the door.

"You already know the answer to that question," Drethan replied.

"Don't I always?" Valant said walking out the door, taking his- or rather Jace's- backpack with him.

Drethan looked on as Valant headed out the door and sighed. "Valant, you'll come to realize one of these days that sometimes sacrifices are needed to get anywhere. After all 'No Sacrifice, No Victory".


	3. The Story Begins

Sometimes Wishes Do Come True

Sometimes Wishes Do Come True

Chapter 3: The Story Begins

"At last, this was the day that I was waiting for! The day I would finally get my costume!" I thought to myself as I got out of bed. Stretching a bit before jumping up, I got dressed in my casual attire of a black shirt, black cargo pants, black sneakers, a black cape with red on the underside and a black coloured headband.

Going outside, I looked up, but for some reason the blue creature didn't fly overhead. "Hmm that's strange" I thought to myself. Shrugging off the thought, I headed into the city. The city was a bit busier today, but still rather quiet. Walking down the street, I turned a corner towards the costume store, unaware that a teenager was watching me from behind.

"He has the same life signal that I detected before" the teenager commented. Then he thought "I need to think of a way to get that costume off him, before it's too late..."

I walked inside the store and saw Drethan standing at the counter. "And how are we today? Drethan asked.

"All right I guess" I replied.

"You guess?"

"The figure didn't show up this morning" I explained.

"Ahh yes, that. Don't worry I managed to solve your little dilemma, so he shouldn't be bothering you anymore" Drethan said grinning.

"...And how exactly did you do that?"

"That's a secret" Derthan replied laughingly.

"Right..."

"But enough about that. You're here to pick up your costume right?" Drethan asked

"Oh yeah, right, I am"

"Hang on, I'll get it for you" Drethan said heading out the back. He came back a few minutes later with a box.

"Okay here you go"

"Thanks Drethan" I said sincerely.

"You're welcome. By the way, I never got your name"

"Oh I'm sorry, Draco, Draco Carvhall" I introduced myself whilst holding out a hand.

Drethan shook my hand in return "Nice to meet you Draco. I'm sure you'll have fun with that costume."

"I hope I do too"

"But just keep in mind one thing"

"And what's that?" I asked

"Don't fight the costume, It'll be easier on you that way"

"Uhhh okay then, I suppose it'll stop me from ripping the thing. Maybe it's just tight fitting?" I thought

"Well thanks anyway. I'll try it on tonight, just to see if it's the right size"

"Don't worry, it's pretty much one size fits all here" Drethan said grinning.

I walked outside where there was a slight breeze blowing through the city. I started to walk down the street with my costume in hand when another teenager bumped into me wearing a green shirt and olive green pants. I paid no mind to it, just rushing to get somewhere I suppose. That was until I realised that my box with my costume in it was gone.

"Hey!" I yelled as I ran at quick speed towards the kid, he turned a corner so I cut through a nearby alleyway. Seeing the kid trying to catch his breath, I seized the opportunity and ran at him before tackling him to the ground.

Snatching back the box I growled "Goddammit, now we got people trying to steal costumes? Seesh…"

Turning to walk away, the teenager said, "Don't wear the costume!" in an almost pleading manner.

"Don't wear the costume? What are you talking about? What's so wrong with it?"

"Please, you've got to believe me! Those costumes are evil! You might never get your old life back if you wear it!" the teenager explained in a desperate kind of tone.

"The costume is evil? Ha ha, I think you've watched one too many horror movies!" I said laughingly.

The teenager managed to get to his feet before saying "I'm serious! If you put that costume on, chances are you'll never get it off again!"

"Look pal, I don't know what on earth you are talking about! All I know is that this costume is mine and you're not having it!"

"Look, either you give me that costume, or I'll take it from you"

"I'd like to see you try pal" I said mockingly as I walked away.

I made it to the fields where my ship was and got inside. I walked to my private cabin and set the box down on the bed before I headed off to take a shower. As I washed myself under the hot water, little did I know that someone was watching the ship.

Even though it was cloaked, they knew it was there. "…If I can't convince him to give it to me, I'll have to steal it from him. He'll thank me one day for this," they said as they approached the entry ramp.

I had just finished my shower and had gotten dressed when the gummi ship's alarm went off. "Intruder alert! Intruder alert!" the alarm rang out.

"Jesus, what now?" I wondered. I took a look around the ship , but couldn't see anybody. However, I knew that someone had broken in, as the entryway was open, and it seems quite forcibly too.

Then I checked the upstairs rooms including all the bedrooms. There was only one room left, my room. Forcibly opening the door with my keyblade Absolution in hand, the scene before me stunned me.

The blue creature from a few days ago was standing over my bed as he picked up the box containing my costume. "Ahhh, you!" I exclaimed.

The creature looked at me and said, _"I'm taking the costume!"_ in its psychic voice.

"Not if I can help it!" I said as I ran at him with my blade in hand. As I jumped to slash at him, I was suddenly frozen in mid-air by the creature's psychic power.

It walked over to me as I hung in mid-air and said "Look I know what this looks like, but I'm trying to save your life here!"

"From (cough) what?" I asked as I felt myself being derived of oxygen.

"Look the only words I going to say is that the costume is evil and you need to kept away from it" it said as it looked at me.

"Well guess what? I got two words for you"

"And those would be?" it asked.

"Ingneus (cough) Incendia" I said as I summoned my fire revolvers.

"What the?!" it exclaimed from what I had just done.

I shot it in the leg and it fell down in pain and the pressure was released on me. Running over and grabbing my costume box and my bag, I ran down the corridor towards the exit.

I tried to dial Xonic's number but it rang out before saying "Hi this is Xonic Cryoliz here, I'm not here right now, so leave a brief message after the beep"

"Xonic, its Draco, where the hell are you? Look, I need a lift pronto, some creature is chasing me inside my own ship, and I need to get out of here before it decides to crush the living daylights out of me. I'm at the world 'Sunrise Valley', I don't know what the co-ordinates are, Roxas should have them. Just help me god!" I said as I hung up.

I swerved around a corner and headed for the corridor leading to the stairs. The creature was catching up fast, using its psychic powers to move itself rather than running. I ran for my life, but then tripped on the carpet. I went sailing towards the stairs and the box landed where I had tripped.

The creature came around the corner and made it way over to the box. "Ugh, I need to get it back! I wanted to be a dragon for so long, I can't lose that chance, not now!" I yelled in my thoughts.

Just then the box seemed to move as I continued to yell in my mind "Being a dragon has always been my dream, I can't lose my only chance to know what it's like!"

The box then began to shake violently, only now did I notice "What on earth?" I said in disbelief.

"Oh no…" the creature said coming down and trying to keep the box shut with his psychic powers. "Get out of here, now! You can't stay here!" it yelled mentally as he tried to hold the box shut.

"Why? What's happening?" I asked in a worrying fashion.

"I haven't got time to explain! Just get out of here now before…" it yelled before the box snapped open, sending the creature back somewhat.

I watched as the costume slithered out of the box and then began to inflate itself like a balloon, at full size it seemed slightly taller than the creature. Then as I stared at the mask, as suddenly two blue eyes stared at me, "The costume is…alive?" I said in much disbelief.

The costume stared at me


	4. Meeting the 'Other' Self

Sometimes Wishes Do Come True

Sometimes Wishes Do Come True

Chapter 4: Meeting the 'Other' Self

I woke up to a shining sun in the world of Sunrise Valley. Looking at myself, I could tell that yesterday wasn't a dream; I still looked like a Dragon in every sense of the word.

I got up and looked in the mirror, I wasn't unhappy with the transformation, but I just hoped that this change wasn't going to be permanent. I walked into another room, this room held all of the weapons that I used on my travels.

A pair of pistols, burst handguns, SMG's, a shotgun, and a rifle just to name a few. I doubt that I could use them now; my new claws wouldn't stand a chance of fitting into the trigger area. I sighed a bit as I also thought of Absolution for a second, summoning him onto the opposite wall, I sat down on my bed.

"_You all right Draco?" _Absolution said, obviously sensing my uneasiness.

"I don't know, I always wanted to be a dragon, but only briefly. Now I'm stuck wondering if I'm gonna be stuck like this for the rest of my life"

"_Well hopefully if what Valant said was correct, within a few more hours, you should be able to take it off" _Absolution said trying to comfort me.

"I sure hope so"

"_**But I thought you wished for this to happen?" **_an unknown voice said.

"Huh? You say something Absolution?" I asked.

"_Not a word" Absolution replied with some confusion in his voice._

"_**I thought it was your dream to become a dragon?" **_

"There it is again…" I said.

"You all right? You seem to be acting a bit weird" "Can't you hear that?" I asked."Hear what?" "That voice, I can hear someone's voice…" I remarked. "I can't hear no voice" "**I was created so that you could fulfill your dream, and now you want to throw me away?" **it said again. Just then, I realized what was speaking to me. I looked down and saw that the costume was giving off an unusual aura. "Is the… costume speaking to me?" I wondered. "**Indeed I am, I am speaking to your consciousness," **The voice said.

"So you mean that you're one of the 'sentient' costumes?" I asked the voice.

"Is that what they call the one's that can speak to their owners? In that case, yes I am a sentient costume as you call it"

"I think this is going to make it harder to take it off now" I thought to myself.

"But why would you want to take me off? Isn't this what you always wanted?"

"Ack! It's can hear my thoughts! Now I can't even think without this costume knowing"

"I'm a part of you now, of course I can hear what you are thinking"

"Well I suppose first things first then… what are you?"

The next 10 minutes went by as the costume explained what it was and the purpose of its existence, it seemed much like the explanation that Valant had given me the night earlier.

"Right, next question and this is the one I'm most anxious to ask" I said before I took a deep breath. Readying myself I yelled "WHY THE HECK DID YOU EAT ME?!"

"_**I had too! If I hadn't of joined with you then, I would've faded back into non-existence!" **_it said.

"Non-existence? You mean, die in a sense?"

"_**Yes. When you handled me back in the room, I was given life. I felt so alive, I couldn't lose that feeling again!" it said in a desperate kind of tone. **_

"I guess that's understandable, I mean I almost died once…" I whispered.

"_**You… nearly died?" **_it said with some disbelief.

"Yes, it was a horrible feeling being on the brink of death. I had so much to live for, I practically had to fight to keep myself alive"__

"_**You mean because of Dartanian?" **_it asked.

"Wait a minute, how'd you know that?

"When I became one with you, I was able to see all your memories, your dreams, your fears. It seems that you have had a rough life, you even lost a friend because of a traitor apparently"

I was silent for that moment; I didn't like thinking back to then. I lost a friend, Femix, because a person whom I thought was a friend turned traitor on us. I even almost died because of the one person in the midst of all the chaos, Dartanian. Dartanian… my best friend's brother and a complete psychopath, he was without mercy for anyone, not even his own men.

Shaking those thoughts off I commented "Well at least that I know that you're not a completely boring costume" whilst laughing a bit.

"_**And what the hell is that supposed to mean?" **_it asked in an annoyed tone.

"Calm down, you ever heard of sarcasm? Besides, now I can enjoy the company of more than just myself all the time"

"Oh, well I suppose that's true" it said giving it's own mental laugh.

"But…"

"You still want to be human again right?"

"Yeah…"

"But I'm not sure about what would happen to me, I mean I don't want to become just another piece of clothing"

I thought for a moment, maybe I could give it a fraction of my light power? I suppose doing so would enable me to use him like a drive form, except he'll still exist as a costume I could use anytime.

"How about I sacrifice some of my light power to you?" I suggested.

"What do you mean?

"Well I can sympathize with your point, if I gave you a portion of my light essence, you can still be awake and even move around when you're not fused with me. Plus doing so may give you some useful abilites in which I could use whilst wearing you, although it might take some practice though…"

"_**You would do that for me?" **_it asked.

"You have my word" I assured it.

"Did you want to do this now, or later?"

"Might as well do it now so I can get it over and done with, but one thing first…" I said.

"_**Yes?"**_

"Do you have a name?" I asked it.

A silence could be heard, and that pretty much gave me my answer. "You don't do you?" I asked anyway.

"No I don't…"

"Well let's try the Internet, maybe we can invent one for you" I suggested.

"_**Uh sorry for asking, but what's internet?"**_

I laughed a bit and said "I guess I got a bit to teach you". The next half hour, we used the Internet to try and find a name for my costume. Then I came across about guardian deities in other worlds.

"Hmmm, what about this? Altoryu, the dragon deity of protection" I explained to it.

"Well it has a ring to it, I suppose Altoryu it is"

"Good, at least that's out of the way"

Standing back up, I then realized the other thing I needed to do now. "Alright, I'm going to start channeling a part of my light power to you so you may feel weird for a little bit" I explained to the costume. Honestly, even I didn't know if this was going to work, I've done something similar when I saved Dragoon, but to do this with something like a costume? I just hoped that this would work.

"_**Alright then, when you're ready" **_Altoryu said to me. I started the process by focusing power from within my heart, finding the parts that made up the light side of my human self. Then concentrating hard, I began to let the light flow onto the costume through myself.

As the light continued to channel itself into Altoryu's being, I began to feel dizzy and felt like I was going to black out, despite this, I continued to channel myself.

"_**Draco are you alright?" **_Altoryu asked me.

"Don't worry bout me, just keep receiving the energy!" I said as I continued the process.

The process was almost complete; the light steadily flowed into Altoryu at a quick pace and I felt very weak from the process. Finally the last bits of light energy flowed into Altoryu and I completed the process.

Altoryu was apparently feeling the power flowing into him when he said, _**"Draco, this power is amazing!"**_

But I was elsewhere; I had used so much energy from the process that I felt really dizzy. _**"Draco? You okay?" **_Altoryu asked me, but I was exhausted and blacked out with the last sounds heard being Altoryu's voice.

Light began to come back into my sight as my vision came back into focus. I was sitting at a table in the gallery, but I wasn't the only one there. Valant was sitting across the table from me with a worried look on his face. "Ohhhh, my head" I complained as I had a major migraine by this point.

"Hey Draco you okay? I was worried for a second" Valant said in his psychic voice. "I'm fine but… how did I end up in the gallery?" "**I walked you here" **Altoryu explained. "You walked me here?" "**After you collapsed, Valant had come knocking on the front ramp. I answered him, but he could sense that you weren't in control." **Altoryu explained. "I sensed that something was up, so I asked who he was, thankfully Altoryu was honest in his answer. He discussed things a bit including him being a sentient costume and also what had just happened to cause you to black out," Valant continued for Altoryu. "So…you know then what I did?" I asked. "Yes I do, even though I don't think that it was the smartest decision to give up a part of yourself like that, I respected the fact that it was your choice to do this for Altoryu's sake" "Well you're all right and that's the main thing" Valant finished. I smiled and looked down at myself again, now surrounded by an almost transparent white aura. But that wasn't the only thing that I saw, a seam had formed in the costume. "Oh don't tell me you're ripping apart now?" I said complaining. "**No, I have been on you long enough for now, I'm letting you out of me"** Altoryu explained. "You serious?" "**Yes, I won't have to be on you as often as most other costumes, but you'll need to still wear me on a semi-regular basis so that I can stay active"** "I'll still wear you a lot, but I just like to have some 'me' time sometimes" "**Heh, that's true I suppose"** Valant and I head back up to the room where I stared at the seam for a few seconds before finally deciding to grab it. As the costume started to pull away from my skin, my clothes had reappeared with my body. The sound of bones and muscles being reshaped back to human form were heard as I pulled away the chest area before I pulled my arms out and reaching for the mask area. I took a deep breath and started to pull the mask off, finding myself unable to breathe for a few seconds. After the mask had come off and my head and skull had restructured itself to it's original form, I quickly pulled my legs out, and I was truly myself again. I stumbled back a bit, as the sudden change in foot and body size unbalanced me. But after a while, I could stand up straight again. Valant looked at me and said "Nice to have you back". "It feels kinda weird to be human again, it felt so natural being a dragon" I commented. Just then, the costume inflated itself again until it was regular size again. Then two blue eyes appeared and this time it spoke as the light aura surrounded it. "**What a sight for sore eyes" **Altoryu joked as he checked himself as a full costume. "Well at least you seem more mobile now," I said. "**Yeah, but I don't think I'll really be going anywhere, it's more fun with you" **

"Of course it is! Fun's my middle name" I said in a sarcastic manner.

I looked out the window and saw that the sun had begun to rise. "Have I been out that long?" I asked Valant.

"_Yeah a couple of hours, but I better go before my parent's wake up, I'll catch you tomorrow" he replied._

"Alright then, see you later" I said as he headed out the door. I lay on the bed to sleep and Altoryu hung himself in the closet, as I was very tired from the day's events. It was nice to be myself again, but I think that I will have some more fun tomorrow with Altoryu, after all I considered myself to be a dragon at heart.


	5. A Problem Arises

Chapter 5: A problem arises

The sun rose up with its usual welcoming glow, it somehow felt nostalgic. Waking up and stretching, I headed for the bathroom and had a shower before changing into my usual attire. I headed over to the closet and opened it, expecting to see Altoryu, but he was gone. I panicked a bit and started to run around the ship trying to find him, I was relieved to find him in my personal armoury. He was holding one of my burst handguns and looked over it a bit, obviously not noticing that I was there.

"Like them? They were my first firearms that I owned" I said to him.

Altoryu jumped at the comment and fumbled around with the gun before putting back in the display case, it was an amusing sight to behold.

"Oh sorry Draco, I didn't see you there" Altoryu said putting the gun back.

"Heh don't worry about it, you like them though?"

"Yes I do, but I'm wondering why they all seemed to be different colour, may I ask why that is?" Altroyu said curiously.

"All of my weapons are imbued with a specified element, such as my burst handguns. They possess the power of light, thus the colouring being pure white."

"I see, and I suppose that I may have abilities that are similar to your handguns?" he asked.

"Well I would think something along those lines, but I haven't had a chance to test that theory yet"

My phone suddenly rang and I was quick to answer it. "Hello, Draco here"

"Draco, are you okay? I just got your message, did something happen?" a familiar voice said from the other end.

"Xonic, where the hell were you?"

"I was on vacation! I already told you that!"

"Then why didn't you answer your phone then?" I asked annoyed

"Oh uh, I actually forgot to take my phone with me, hehe..."

"Jesus Xonic, you gotta remember to buy a strap or something for yourself so you don't forget things like that"

"Yeah, well anyway, are you all right? You sounded kinda desperate..."

"Oh uh, yeah everything's right now. I was attacked by a strong half-heart, and was starting to tire. But don't worry I destroyed the thing" I lied to him.

"Oh that all? Oh well, I thought I was gonna have to come down there"

"That won't be necessary, I'm fine" I assured him

"Well, if you need any help, just ask and I'll come and assist you"

"Sure, and I've made a few friends here, you may want to come down and meet them sometime" I said looking at Altroyu who was examining my gun collection again.

"Sure, I may bring the rest of the gang with me, anyways see you" Xonic said before he hung up.

I hung up the phone just before Altoryu asked, "Why didn't you just tell him the truth?"

"Because even though we have seen some strange things, living costumes is something we haven't seen yet. I mean I freaked out when I saw you for the first time and also when you transformed me, the rest of my friends would probably have the same reaction" I explained to Altoryu.

"I see..."

"But anyway, are you all right, I mean you look slightly worn" I commented.

"Uh, well even though I have the power to move around now without your help, I can't do it that long and even talking to you takes up chunks of my energy reserve"

"Well hopefully you should be able to adapt, and maybe be able to stay like that longer" I said to Altoryu.

"I hope so, it's feels nice to walk around on my own"

"Yeah well I'm probably going to probably go to the costume shop today, wanna come with?" I asked

"Okay sure, what do you need there?"

"Nothing, just to have a chat to Drethan about you" I explained.

"Ah"

"Don't worry I'm not going to trash his store or anything, in fact considering things, I might up actually thanking him"

Altroyu deflated himself to a manageable size before I folded him up and put him in my backpack. "Ready?" I asked.

"Yeah".

I walked out into the golden sun as I cloaked the ship and headed into town. The place was a lot busier today, more people lined the streets and the shops were busy serving customers in the stores. I cut through an alleyway and found the Second Identity store, the bell jingled as I casually walked in.

The place was as packed with costumes as it was when he came here about 2 weeks ago. Making my way through the plethora of costumes, I found my way to the counter. Drethan stood at the counter looking at me, as if he was waiting for me.

"Good day Draco, how can I help you?" he asked in a pleasant kind of tone.

"I was wondering if I could have a little talk with you"

"Follow me..." Drethan said as he magically flipped the lock on the front door and the sign on front to 'closed'.

I followed him into a study and he sat in his chair before motioning for me to sit down.

"Now I'm guessing Valant told you some details about me?" he asked

"Yeah mostly about what you are and what you do"

"I see, anything else?"

"Only some details about the costume such as the effects and how they can be aware of themselves"

"Alright good, I suppose it saves a long drawn out explanation. But yes, I'l admit that I am a wizard and for the past few years I have been experimenting on the power of wishes and desires and created those costumes to grant those desires to people"

"Valant told me that those costumes can become addictive or even come attached to you permanently"

"Yes, an unfortunate side effect of the costumes, they can cause people to lose themselves in the reality of becoming that creature and then find it hard to separate themselves from that creature for more than a days, even hours. Some people even tend to lose themselves to a point where they don't want to go back to their own lives and decide to permanently as that creature."

"Valant also said that there might be other side effects"

"Yes, developing the mental or physical characteristics of their costumes, even losing control of the costume if it is smart enough"

"Smart enough?"

"Yes Draco, some costumes can sometimes develop their own intelligence and awareness of themselves, then when the person least expects it the costume can hijack the brain and take control over and force the person to merge with them, making the change permanent and taking control over the person's mind"

I shuddered at the thought "It doesn't happen often, does it?" I asked.

"No, I have seen very few cases where the costume has been able to do such a thing, but it is always a possibility when you experiment with the power of wishes and desires"

Drethan saw my backpack and said "Oh by the way, I heard that yours has developed it's own awareness and intelligence. Altoryu I think he's named?"

"How did you know that?"

"I must be honest with you when I say that I spied on you"

"You spied on me?" I said with a heavy feeling on violation coming over me.

"You mean you watched though the window as it happened?"

"Of course not! I used that..." Drethan said motioning over to a bowl in a stone pedestal that was filled with water.

"What's that?"

"It's my scrying pool. That bowl allows me to see other people whenever I want to, I just picture the person or think the person's name and their image of what they are doing at the time shows up. And before you ask, no, I am not a pervert, I have special tools that can tell me when a person is transforming, and that's is the only time I watch them and also use it for monitoring a customer's progress after they have had their transformation"

A sigh of relief came over me as I focused my vision back on Drethan. "So I have seen that you performed a... unique ritual to give Altoryu his own form, in a matter of speaking" he said to me.

"Oh yeah... that, well I suppose I wanted to give him a bit of freedom, so I gave up part of the light side of my heart. It will renew itself in time, but not for a week or so..."

"Such is the power of the one who wields the keyblade" Drethan commented.

"Wait a sec how'd you?"

"What you thought I did not know of your 'unique' talent? Yes I know that you are indeed from another world and that you wield the mystical blade that could help the world to prosper, or to bring the universe to its knees"

"I... see, I suppose that you may want to hear the whole story then?" I asked.

"No need, scrying your memories has given me enough information that I need to know in relation of why you are here. But I do wish for you to answer some questions for me in relation to your transformation"

"You scryed my memories? Well this time it's okay, but in future please tell me beforehand, there are some memories that I wish for you to not know" I said in a slightly annoyed voice.

"Indeed, just the necessary information, I do not wish to delve into a person's personal affairs"

The interview went on for what seemed to be like 30 minutes to an hour and covered thing like how painful the transformation was, whether or not I was feeling ill at the moment and whether or not Altoryu ever tried to take control of my body. "Very well then, now I wish to speak to Altoryu then please" Drethan requested.

I put the backpack down and opened it up before reaching in and grabbing Altoryu. Laying him on the floor, he began to inflate to regular size until he was full in form. Drethan requested that he could conduct the interview in private, so I made my way out the door and wandered around the store for a bit.

20 minutes later, Altoryu exited with Drethan and deflated himself as I stuffed him into my backpack. Drethan looked at me and said "If you could come back in a week, that would be great. However if any... side effects begin to show themselves, come and see me immediately". I nodded and headed out the door.

Outside I thought "Maybe I should to something about this whole camouflage thing, I mean sooner or later someone is going to find my ship and that could be trouble".

_"How do you suppose we deal with this?" _Absolution asked.

"Maybe I could transform the ship into a different shape, perhaps like some of the houses around here, that way I wouldn't attract much attention"

_"It sounds like a good idea, but what about your... identity?"_

"Hmmm... I suppose that I'll have some work to do"

I suppose that a new identity wouldn't hurt, I mean if it helps to blend in with the common folk. It's not like I had any important duties ahead of me, Dartanian was destroyed around a month ago. "I suppose that staying here is like a vacation I suppose and a second place to live" I thought. The rest of the day consisted of walking around the city and surveying the houses in the area whilst taking notes about their features.

Walking back to the ship and heading for the study, I sat down and started to scribble out blueprints for the new house that I was going to use. most of the day and night was spent on the blueprints as I marked all the necessary details that would be needed. After another hour or two, I finally finished off the plans and stood at a strange scanner of sorts. This machine allowed me to scans blueprints for different kinds of buildings and vehicles for the exact purpose of blending in with the people's townsfolk, I thanked god that Cid was able to install such a device for situations like these.

Setting a delay timer on the ship, so that I could get out in time, I hurried out of the ship. The transformation then began as a bright light shone, it was nighttime and there were no other houses in direct vicinity of the ship, so I was confident that no one would notice. When the transformation was complete, the ship had turned into a luxurious 3 story house, one story being a basement of sorts. It seemed to fit in with a lot of the other houses, but maybe just a little more expensive looking than most.

Going inside, I saw that most of the rooms mimicked the gummi ship's rooms, but looking more homely like. There was the kitchen, lounge room, rumpus room, bedrooms, bathrooms etc. Walking downstairs to my personal armoury, all of my weapons had seemed to change as well, the colour faded from them and looking like the normal colours the respective guns would take. I took note that this may mean that they can't use magic in the meantime.

Walking into the study, I hooked up my computer and started to research the world that I was in. Looking over what I could find, I found that the world was actually much bigger than I originally thought, and Sunrise Valley was part of a country called the United States of America. Looking more, the world was actually called Earth, "So much for Mr. Know-It-All-Sora" I thought as I continued to look on. I started to type up a new profile for myself, not much as in my name or age, but more about where I lived and what I did for a living.

Draco Carvhall, 17 years old, a teenager who moved here from Australia which he lived majority of his life beforehand in the city of Rockhampton, QLD. His father is a games designer for a famous game company, and his mother owns a chain of fashion retail stores. His parents built this house here so that he could live in it when on vacation. A bright student, who is studying games design himself at the university, hopes to be able to join a major game design company when he's older and create games that will sell millions.

A sometimes rather self-reserved person, he is calm in most situations and is willing to help people out when they need it. He enjoys interacting and socialising with people and also has a good sense of humour, often seen throwing in one-liners into a conversation, which generally make people laugh.

"I hope that this will be enough..."

_"But how are you planning to make this stick?" Absolution asked._

Then it hit me, I had no way of doing it myself, even being a master of the keyblade, I couldn't manipulate minds. I thought for a second, then I thought of Drethan "Maybe he could help me" I thought.

_"What? The wizard at the costume shop? Are you sure that he'll be willing to help with something like that?"_

"I can only try..."

I saw Altroyu walking the halls, obviously looking at the new setting of the place. A sudden idea came to mind, I hadn't worn Altroyu in a while and it was around midnight, it would be a perfect chance as any!

"Hey Altroyu!" I shouted out.

"Yes Draco?"

"You want to take a trip up to the costume shop with me, I mean together?"

"Hmmm, what for?"

"I was going to ask Drethan for a favour"

"Well... okay, I need a break from walking around by myself" he agreed.

I printed out the profile and stuffed in into my backpack before I stood up. Altoryu walked up behind me and began to open himself up before starting to envelope my body. The process was slightly less painful then last time, but still hurt when my bones and muscles began to shift as well as the tail and wings adhering themselves to my skin. As I felt my face change shape to fit the mask area, I soon found myself standing in the dragon suit again with my scales shimmering in the light.

A familiar presence then took up residence in my mind as Altoryu said _**"Man I feel a bit better this way, at least I can let you do all the work for once" **_I just laughed as I carefully made my way out of the house, reminding myself of the time when I hit that door frame, hard. Outside, a cool breeze was felt as I stared at the half moon shining in the night's sky. "All right, now to test these wings then" I said as I willed my wings to extend and start flapping.

I soon found myself hovering in the air as my wings began to beat rhythmically together. "So, this is what it feels like to have dragon wings..." I thought. _**"Feels nice doesn't it?" **_Altoryu said to me.

"Sure does, I could definitely get to like this"

I took off towards the city as I felt the wind glide over me as I sailed through the sky. I looked down as I tried to find Drethan's shop, before seeing the familiar red-bricked building. I landed in front of the back door, not the most graceful landing as I stumbled a bit before steadying myself. I walked up to the door and was about to knock when Drethan said "Come in Draco, the back door is unlocked.

"That's... really scary how he does that" I commented as I walked in. Drethan was in his study, reading over notes as it were. "Good evening Draco, what brings you here?" Drethan asked.

"I was wondering if I could ask you... for a favour"

"What kind of favour?"

"Well I have decided that I might stay here a while, and was looking to maybe blend in with the normal crowd a bit more so I thought you could..."

"Alter the memories of the townsfolk so that you seem like just another person in this world who moved here recently?"

I was taken back a bit, "Uh yeah, kinda like that..." I said.

"Well this is a big ask, and no doubt that it would take a lot of magic so..."

"So what?

"Very well I'll do it for you"

"You serious?" I asked in a slight tone of disbelief.

"Yes, consider it a reward for helping me" Drethan said.

"A reward for helping you?"

"Yes, the data I have collected from you has helped me a great deal in my research, you're one of the most successful results I've had since Andrew and Lizarou"

"Andrew? Lizarou? Who are they?" I asked.

"Andrew was a previous customer of mine, his costume Lizarou has many abilites that are similar to that of Altoryu"

_**"Such as?"**_ Altroryu said coming into the conversation.

"The ability to talk whilst not attached to a person, being able to move on your own accord, stuff like that." Drethan explained.

"But either way, I can see that you are serious about staying here, so I will so this for you"

"Thank you Drethan, but there is one thing..." I said.

"And what would that be?"

"Could you not alter Valant's memory, I don't want to betray his trust after what he has done for me"

"Very well, if that is your wish. But before you go, I want to ask some more questions with both of you together"

"Okay then"

After 10 minutes of questions, I handed Drethan the profile I wanted to have," Very interesting, also somewhat vague, I'll do my best to fill in the blanks for you as well" Drethan said as I walked out.

Stepping outside I folded my arms and said, "I wonder what to do now?"

_**"How about we go exploring for a bit?" **_Altoryu suggested.

"Sure why not, we still got plenty of time before the sun comes up"

Taking off once again, we flew around the city and the surrounding area, taking in the sights of the vast forests, lakes and mountains around Sunrise Valley. I decided to take a break on a cliff, and was able to land a bit better, but almost fell over again. I stood there staring into the vast landscape as the cool breeze glided over my draconic scales and skin.

_"Well this brings back memories" _A voice said from behind me, turning around, I saw Valant standing there in his trademark cap and bandana.

"Oh Valant, I didn't see you there"

_"You remember that night? Here at this cliff?"_

"How could I forget? I almost had a heart attack that night"

_"But anyway, what are you doing here?" _Valant asked while giving off an amused look from my comment.

I paused for a second, before saying "I paid a visit to Drethan before"

_"Drethan? Why?"_

"I was asking him for a favour"

Valant was slightly taken back by this, _"You asked him for a favour?"_

"Yes I did, is that a problem?"

_"What did you ask him for?" Valant enquired._

"I asked him to modify the townsfolk's memory so that I can live in this city a bit more comfortably"

_"And what exactly did you ask him to modify?" _Valant said in a angry tone, I could tell that he wasn't exactly pleased with the idea.

"I just told him to modify who I am and where I lived while I'm here, nothing major"

_"Well even if it was just something small like that, I still don't approve much about you doing this"_

"Well what if someone found out where the ship was? Everyone would think that I'm an alien or something and hunt me down"

_"You could just explain it to them"_

"Yeah, try and explain to them that I'm a guardian of the worlds and that I have a giant key shaped weapon that I use to battle creatures who's primal instincts drive them to steal the hearts of others!"

I tried to calm down and said "Look, I've already modified the ship as needed, the only thing I really needed to have done was to make everyone think that this house was built here a couple of weeks ago so that I could live here whilst I attended the university"

_"You're going to university?" _

"Maybe not permanently here, but I may choose to do it through correspondence after I leave"

_"What are you going to study?"_

"Game and computer design"

_"And how are you going to pay for it?"_

"I will, I have enough money to spare from my past endeavours"

_"You must be rich to afford something like uni fees"_

"Well I had no use for money other than food and housing among other things, everything else could be made through synthesis workshops and also as spoils from battles that I fought in"

_"Sounds like there's a lot of things in your world that us on earth wouldn't be able to comprehend"_

"Well I'm kinda surprised that this world seems to be a bit devoid of such abilities"

_"That's really only because we have never encountered such humans as you, and we get sightings of such things, we generally think of it as a threat to humanity on earth rather than a chance to learn and develop new technology with the help of such abilities"_

I was rather surprised by this sudden revelation, people of Earth considering people form other parts of the universe a threat to humanity?

"Why would you think of such things? I asked.

_"Some say it's our fear of the unknown, others say it's our governments and world leaders manipulating us into thinking such thoughts"_

"Well I suppose that is a reasonable theory"

_"Movies and other media give us a stereotype that anyone from outside Earth are enemies of human society"_

The conversation was suddenly starting to get strange, going from talking about favours and magic to manipulation and human philosophy.

"Well anyway, I may consider staying here for a while, maybe even stay around long enough to finish this degree I'll sign up for" I said, trying to change the subject.

_"That's good to hear, but what about your family though?" _Valant asked in some concern.

"They are used to me being away for long periods, plus I can travel rather quickly between worlds, I could attend Uni and go to see my parents on the weekends.

Valant just nodded his head and stood beside me as we stared at the moonlight-covered horizon. I felt like I had a new friend to look up to in some regards, but there was one thing I wanted to ask Valant.

"...Valant"

_"Hmm? Something wrong Draco?"_

"I wanted to ask you, how long have you lived like this?"

_"Lived like what?" _

"You know, how long have you had the costume?"

_"Oh, I guess about 1-2 years"_

"Did you come to terms with your... predicament as quickly as I did?"

_"Well at first, I found it hard having to live with it, and had to wear my costume often within the first few weeks."_

"And your parents?"

_"I never told them, it's been such a burden for me to keep something like this from them"_

"Must be hard"

"I've managed to do all right so far"

"_What about you?"_

"Hmm?"

"You going to tell your parents about your… little predicament?"

"Actually it's just my mum now, my dad died a few weeks ago…"

Valant was rather shocked by this news, _"Oh I'm sorry I didn't know…"_

"It's all right, my dad… my dad was murdered, and right in front of my eyes too"

"_Your dad was murdered?" _Valant said in a rather concerned tone.

"Yes, he was murdered by a man by the name of Dartanian. Dartanian was a sadistic madman who took pride in causing pain to others; especially those who tried to stop him… like me. He stabbed my dad in the heart, and in that moment, something in my heart broke and I suddenly became overcome with rage. I transformed into a demon, and I started to channel all of my rage into a frenzy attack against him."

"What happened?"

"I was losing my humanity until my best friend Xonic saved me from myself, but the battle wasn't over yet. My father, with what was left of his power, fused with my heart and gave me the power of the Knight of Twilight, giving me the power to defeat Dartanian. But Dartanian wasn't finished yet; he rushed at me with all his power and dealed a fatal blow before finally dieing."

"So you mean…. you died?"

"Yes and no, yes I did die. But apparently a week after that moment, I was revived somehow by Kingdom Hearts. It gave me my heart back and I found myself alive again, and reunited with friends."

"Man it sounds like you been to hell and back"

"You don't know the half of it," I said laughingly.

"Yes I do miss my father, but he is always with me, due to him fusing with my heart. My twilight form contains his essence and I can always talk with him by changing into that form as we both control the same body in a way"

"_Well at least it's nice to know that he truly isn't gone"_

"Yeah, it's a comforting thought."

The sun was steadily rising in the distance as morning steadily approached. "Hmmm, maybe we should continue this discussion another time" I said to Valant.

"_Oh, all right, I guess that I'll see you again tonight then" _"Valant said as he prepared to take off.

"Valant"

"Yes?"

"Just know that I made special note of not having your memories manipulated, so you and Drethan will be the only ones that know about my…true origins"

Valant just smiled as he took off towards the city. I extended my wings and began to over a bit before I flew off towards my new residence. Upon arriving and crouching through the door, I made haste for my room before sitting down on my bed.

"Hey Altoryu, you all right? You've been rather silent for a while" I commented.

"I didn't realise how hard your life has been, I mean your dad died and even you reached the brink of death. How is it that you stay so positive?"

"I try to never let anything bring me down, especially with my father not being here, at least physically. I need to be the one to look after the family now and must not falter from what I believe in and protect that which is most important to me: My family and friends"

"At least it's good to know that you know what you want from life"

"Teneo thy fatum" I remarked.

"_**What was that?" **_Altoryu asked.

"Teneo thy fatum, its Latin for Know thy Destiny. Everyone has a purpose in life, everyone had their own goals and dreams that they want to achieve in life. I know that my destiny lies in the task of being a warrior of justice that fights to see the day that the whole world is free from evil, and everyone can live the lives that they want without having to live in fear"

"_**Heh, you humans are certainly something"**_ Altoryu said as he opened himself up. I began to pull the costume away and felt as my body reformed itself before I finally pulled away the last part of the costume.

Altoryu inflated himself back to full size again and looked at me with him gleaming blue eyes.

"I'm glad that I met you"

"Yeah, well get used to it, you're gonna be stuck with me the rest of your life" I said in a sarcastic tone.

We both laughed at the joke that I had just made as he walked out to explore the new house again. I felt a sense of relief come over me, knowing that I didn't have to carry such a heavy burden alone. Of course I haven't had the best life, but it's my life, and I'm gonna live it to the fullest.


End file.
